Federal agency decisions, searchable in plain English.
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Employment 2000 Corp.
Late-contest dismissal set aside for address error
Employment 2000 filed a late notice of contest after OSHA mailed its citation to an address with an incorrect ZIP code. The same incorrect ZIP code appeared on the Secretary's dismissal motion, the judge's decision, and other case notices, leaving the record unclear whether the company received or…
Sanderson Farms, Inc.
Two poultry-plant shaft-guarding items affirmed with reduced penalty
OSHA found unguarded rotating shafts on chicken-cutting saws and an unguarded projecting shaft end at a Sanderson Farms processing plant. The judge held that the saw arbor was an integral part of the power-transmission shaft and that the specific guarding standards required physical guards without…
Sanderson Farms, Inc.
Unstable freezer pallet storage resulted in a $6,300 penalty
Sanderson Farms stored 2,200-to-2,500-pound pallets of frozen chicken on an aging freezer rack system with frequently damaged legs and little margin for placement error. A maintenance employee died from smoke inhalation and burns after beginning to cut a damaged rack leg while loaded pallets…
J.C. Watson Company
Onion packing operations were subject to general-industry standards
J.C. Watson Company grew onions and operated an Idaho facility that cleaned, sorted, graded, packaged, and prepared them for shipment. After an employee's arm was caught under a moving conveyor, OSHA cited the company under numerous general-industry standards. Watson argued that its packing work…
St. Lawrence Food Corp., dba Primo Foods
Most dairy-plant health and safety citations affirmed
OSHA conducted health and safety inspections at Primo Foods, a kosher dairy, and cited hazards involving ammonia refrigeration, respirators, confined spaces, chemical training, noise, machine guarding, electrical work, lockout/tagout, powered industrial trucks, and recordkeeping. The ALJ found that…
Graphic Packaging International, Inc.
Press shaft guarding violation affirmed
Graphic Packaging operated printing presses used to make cardboard packaging. OSHA cited the company after six rotating press shaft ends were left unguarded during press alignment and doctor-blade cleaning. The judge found that employees worked within inches of the exposed shafts and that plant…
Duro-Last, Inc.
First-aid-room eating violation affirmed
OSHA cited three conditions at Duro-Last's roofing-material plant. The judge vacated the eyewash item because employees merely connected forklift batteries for charging and the Secretary did not prove exposure to corrosive electrolyte. He also vacated the machine-shaft guarding item because…
C-Post
Willful lockout and guarding citations cut to serious after a small fence-post maker's amputation injury
C-Post is a small Montana company that makes wooden fence posts and furniture legs from logs, employing about 10 people. After a worker's left hand was severed in a doweler machine, OSHA inspected and issued a long list of serious, willful, repeat, and other-than-serious citations covering…
L & B Products, Corp.
Fifty manufacturing safety items affirmed
L & B Products, Corp. manufactured furniture at a facility in Hudson, New York. OSHA issued 51 serious and other-than-serious items after inspecting eight departments. The allegations covered elevated work areas, exit signs, flammable liquids, fire and lockout training, machine and power-press…
What these documents are
- Commission decisions: Rulings by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission itself, the highest level of agency review. These are citable as Commission precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by OSHRC Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official OSHRC public release, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.